It's the New Year shortly. What will I make of it? Will there be ...resolutions? I've never minded having a go at those. Will I renew my LJ account? That's coming up soon. I probably will. It's still a place I can let off steam, and these days I have friends who can handle just about anything without getting crappy at me. Which is good.

I'm having a massive clean out at the moment, trying desperately to get ruthless with stuff. It's hard. We don't have much storage space and we all seem to acquire a LOT of stuff that we can't possibly do without... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! Maybe I'll clean up my LJ too... if you're off the list, take offence. I probably don't like how you have behaved to me and it's been way too long waiting for you to come to your senses and be friends again! Caring? I am thinking of giving that up for 2010 and just being a person.

Hmmm, that'll last about five minutes, huh! A friend(?) phoned yesterday just to catch up. I refer to her as the PHB or psycho hose beast... did you watch Wayne's World? She's very unstable but quite chatty on a good day when her meds are up and her children aren't trying to destroy themselves or one another... she wants me to come up for a cup of tea in the New Year. It's hard but *sigh* I'll probably go, huh. Because. I. Care. Dammit.

Anyway, I'm going to hang out two loads of washing then I'm going to walk to the Pharmacy to get some interesting pills then I'm going to sit in the sun and just bask and write before I cook our own re-visit to Christmas dinner. I am really very lucky. What are you up to? I want to know. Because. I. Care...

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I'm looking at LJ while Fledge watches a DVD and Jamie tries to wreck the room/house/etc. I spent this afternoon packing the things I can't do without in the bedroom into shoe boxes so that the bedroom furniture can be packed into the van - not the bed, because we have a bed in Portugal, but everything else. Clothes are mostly going with us or into the fitted wardrobe in the spare room. The whole place looks (and feels) like a bomb site. I can't find anything, I can't access anything, I can't remember where I put anything, and I suffer from periods of total panic.

My main resolution is to spend more time in Portugal in peace and quiet... this depends, of course, on the internet problem being solved!

OMG a perfect icon -The whole place looks (and feels) like a bomb site. I can't find anything, I can't access anything, I can't remember where I put anything, and I suffer from periods of total panic.Ah, someone who understands me. I just walk from room to room in despair! SO I know just how you are feeling. Poor Moth!

I do hope Portugal really is a place of peace.

The interesting pills are a new thing to help circulation. I still have one oft-swollen ankle that's bothered me since we went to Germany all that time ago and no one can fix it so this... we'll see!

I'll be interested to hear how the pills go. I have ankle problems at times, especially after long trips in the van, and the doctor says I can't have diuretics because I haven't got high blood pressure and there's no other 'cure'. He said it was to do with circulation so your experience will be interesting.

Portugal is peaceful in many ways and at least there I am unpacking the boxes rather than packing them, so things stand a chance of reappearing!

Can't remember where I got the icon. I think it was in an online cartoon or something like that.

-the doctor says I can't have diuretics because I haven't got high blood pressure and there's no other 'cure'Well, how irritating! Get angry before you go to the doctors next time *g* -He said it was to do with circulation so your experience will be interesting.I found skipping is really good for moving the circulation around. Or just jumping up and down in the kitchen. 30 seconds at a time, every hour or so... I'll let you know if they work - it can take about four weeks to have an effect. It's a concentration of horse chestnut that is apparently good for veins and as a positive side-effect (hopefully for me), circulation. Hey, it might even make my brain work better *g*

They gave my mother diuretics because of swollen ankles (hereditary?)and she ended up with kidney problems which they now know can actually be caused by diuretics and no corresponding high blood pressure. My doctor did recommend exercise and I do those ankle things you're supposed to do on long distance flights - it helps. I'd read about horse chestnut but feel a bit wary - I'm very allergic to the horse chestnut flower pollen so I wonder whether I might be allergic to the entire plant? Maybe not - I can't drive past them in spring without problems, but the rest of the year they seem benign!! When I go for physio, for my back, the physiotherapist massages my lower legs as well, to improve circulation, and that definitely helps but of course isn't a daily option!

Wow, I'm amazed you know you are allergic to the horse chestnut flower pollen. I didn't even know there was a horse chestnut flower.

So I guess this has nothing to do with horses then...

-When I go for physio, for my back, the physiotherapist massages my lower legs as well, to improve circulation, and that definitely helps but of course isn't a daily option!It could be in Portugal! You could hire some poor person to come and do that each day *g*

The horse chestnut trees are quite a feature of the English countryside and the flowers are spectacular. The nuts, which come in very prickly cases, are 'conkers' and children play with them - they aren't edible but so far as I know they aren't actually toxic - just as hard as nails!

There's also a sweet chestnut tree - they're all over Portugal but not so common here. Those are the ones that produce the chestnuts you get in chestnut puree or marrons glace (the crystalised French version...). I have no idea if the two trees are from the same tree species!

I've heard of conkers! They'd feature in the old British 'Children's Annuals' we used to get here occasionally, usually in some second hand book stall or something. I always wanted to have a conker competition but we don't have them! And chestnut features in my recipe books but I've never come across it being used here much. Must look out for it. I suspect it'd be in a can or something!